咸宁市

Why this place

Xianning is the forested prefecture south of Wuhan, and its bamboo forest at Chibi (Xianning's own Chibi, not the famous one) is a vast sea of bamboo that rustles in the wind — one of the largest bamboo areas in China. The region also has a lot of hot springs.

What to see

• The Star Bamboo Sea (Xingxing Zhuhai) — walk or take the cable car over the canopy
• Chibi's Three Kingdoms sites — this is one of the two places claiming the famous battle
• One-finger Mountain and the hot springs around Xianning

What to eat

• Bamboo shoots in every form — fresh, dried, pickled
• Hubei hot-spring-town cooking; the local rice wine

Best time

April–June and September–November